FTA tax audit support
Respond to the scope of a notice or enquiry, reconcile the requested periods and prepare evidence-backed explanations. The authority controls its examination.
FTA enquiries · VAT · Corporate tax
Tax Audit Support in Dubai & the UAE
Turn an authority request into a clear response plan. SAIF Chartered Accountants helps your finance team organise evidence, reconcile tax figures and prepare supported answers.
Know which review you need
An official tax audit is conducted by the FTA.
Our service is assistance to your business before, during and after that examination. An information request, a private compliance review and a financial audit are not interchangeable.
VAT health check
Examine selected compliance areas before a notice arrives and identify gaps for management to address.
Explore VAT health checks →Annual audit
Obtain an independent financial-statement audit under the agreed reporting framework. It does not replace tax-specific checks.
Annual audit services →The Tax Procedures law, Articles 16–22, sets out the authority’s audit powers, cooperation requirements and taxpayer rights.
Practical assistance
One coordinated file. Clear responsibility for each reply.
Notice and deadline review
Build a request tracker showing the question, period, evidence owner, due date and current status. Distinguish a formal audit notice from a separate request for information.
VAT audit assistance
Prepare return-to-ledger reconciliations and examine the transactions in scope: sales, input tax, credit notes, imports, reverse charge, exports and recovery allocations. Document the rationale behind material treatments.
VAT technical advice →Corporate tax enquiry support
Connect the filed return and computation to financial statements and schedules. Where requested, organise support for adjustments, elections, losses and related-party pricing.
Corporate tax support →Evidence and response preparation
Index documents, prepare explanations, obtain management approval and keep the final version with its submission acknowledgement. Track follow-up requests against the original response.
A controlled response process
From the first request to documented follow-up.
- 01
Understand
Read the complete notice. Identify the entity, tax, periods, requests and deadlines.
- 02
Reconcile
Match filed figures to ledgers and supporting evidence; explain differences.
- 03
Respond
Prepare an indexed response, obtain approval and retain submission records.
- 04
Follow through
Track further queries, assess findings and assign corrective actions.
Read the actual deadline—not a generic countdown.
The normal advance audit-notice period is at least 10 business days, with statutory exceptions. It is not a universal deadline for answering every query. Information must be supplied as specified in the applicable request.
FTA-published Executive Regulation: Articles 16–17 →Your evidence checklist
Make each figure traceable to its source.
Use this as a preparation framework. The authority’s request and your business circumstances determine the final document set.
Notice and correspondence
Full notice, attachments, receipt date, previous requests and submission acknowledgements.
Registration and authority
Trade licence, entity structure, tax registrations and the applicable representative or agent appointment.
Returns and accounting
Filed returns, computations, trial balances, general ledger, financial statements and reconciliations for the requested periods.
Transaction evidence
Invoices, credit notes, contracts, bank records and relevant import, export or delivery documents.
Technical explanations
Support for material VAT treatments, Corporate tax adjustments and related-party transactions where within scope.
Open matters
Missing documents, prior corrections, pending refunds, assessments and unresolved accounting differences.
Filed figure→Reconciliation→Ledger entries→Source documents
A useful working file includes an index, a reconciliation schedule, an explanation of differences and a list of unresolved items. These are preparation deliverables—not an FTA certificate or approval.
Working with your team
Keep the records intact and the answers consistent.
Nominate a finance contact and an authorised decision-maker. We can coordinate with your existing accountant, software team and management instead of asking several people to send competing versions.
- Retain original files and a dated copy of each submitted response.
- Keep a change log for reconciliations and revised schedules.
- Separate confirmed facts from assumptions and missing evidence.
- Agree a secure channel for financial and identity records.
If the ledger needs reconstruction, agree separate accounting support and realistic milestones.
After the examination
Understand the findings and the next decision.
Review the authority’s conclusions against the records provided. Separate factual differences, calculation issues and questions of tax treatment. Record relevant dates and agree who will handle any payment, response or further advice.
Where a remedy may be available, assess its conditions and deadline promptly. Reconsideration, objections and litigation are different procedures; specialist legal work is not automatically included.
Close the internal gaps too.
Assign owners to improvements in invoicing, reconciliations, evidence retention and approval controls. Carry the agreed changes into routine VAT return preparation rather than leaving them in a one-off report.
Fees follow your company profile.
Our proposal reflects the tax types, periods, entities, transaction volumes, document quality and urgency. Additional accounting cleanup or dispute work is identified separately. There are no fixed plans or guaranteed authority outcomes.
Questions business owners ask
FTA audit assistance: practical answers.
01What is an FTA tax audit?+
It is an examination by the Federal Tax Authority to check compliance with tax obligations. SAIF provides preparation and response support; we do not conduct the official authority audit or determine its outcome.
02What should I do when I receive an FTA audit notice?+
Keep the complete notice and attachments, record when it arrived, identify the entity and periods, and assign a response owner. Preserve the underlying records and arrange a review of the scope, deadlines and any representative appointment.
03How much advance notice does the FTA normally give?+
The Tax Procedures law generally requires at least 10 business days before a tax audit. Specified exceptions allow entry without prior notice. Separate information requests have their own stated deadlines, so do not treat 10 business days as a universal response period.
04Is a VAT health check the same as an FTA audit?+
No. A health check is a private diagnostic review commissioned by your business. An FTA audit is an authority examination. Our audit-support service focuses on organising evidence and responding to the actual request.
05Does an annual financial audit replace a tax audit?+
No. A financial-statement audit and an authority tax examination have different purposes. Audited accounts can support a tax file, but do not establish that every tax return or transaction treatment is correct.
06Can SAIF help with both VAT and Corporate tax enquiries?+
Yes. We agree the tax types, periods and technical work in scope, identify the responsible team and confirm any necessary agent appointment. Specialist or additional work is scoped separately.
07Can you work with our existing accountant?+
Yes. Your accountant can supply the ledgers, returns and schedules while we coordinate the agreed review and response work. Clear ownership of data, approval and submission avoids duplicate or inconsistent replies.
08What if some invoices or records are missing?+
Identify the gaps and seek genuine copies or corroborating evidence. Explain unresolved limitations to the responsible adviser. Do not create backdated documents or describe an unsupported figure as verified.
09Should we amend a return immediately after receiving a notice?+
Not without assessing the error, period, procedural stage and applicable correction route. A current-return adjustment, voluntary disclosure and response to an assessment are not interchangeable. Obtain case-specific advice promptly.
10How long will the tax audit take?+
There is no single completion time for every case. It depends on the authority’s scope, number of periods, records available and follow-up questions. We agree our preparation milestones separately from the FTA timetable.
11How much does FTA audit assistance cost?+
Fees depend on the entities, tax types, periods, transaction complexity, record quality and urgency. We provide a scoped proposal rather than fixed plans; accounting reconstruction or dispute-related work may need a separate engagement.
12Can you guarantee that no tax or penalty will be assessed?+
No. The authority determines its findings. Our role is to prepare a clear, supported response and help assess appropriate next steps, not to promise an exemption, cancelled penalty or favourable decision.
13Can mainland and free-zone businesses use this service?+
Yes. We tailor the review to the legal entity, activities and tax position. A free-zone licence does not by itself settle the tax treatment of every transaction.
14What happens after the FTA issues findings?+
Review the findings and supporting calculations, identify payment or response dates and obtain advice on any available remedy. Reconsideration or dispute proceedings need separate assessment; court representation is not automatically part of this service.
Official guidance
Sources checked 28 September 2026. This is general service information; a specific notice and tax position require individual review.
An organised response starts here
Tell us what the FTA has requested.
Start with the entity, tax type, periods and deadline. We will confirm the scope and arrange secure document sharing.
Request audit support →